Maintaining a healthy pregnancy weight helps mother and baby

11 June 2015

Women should try and maintain a healthy weight throughout their pregnancy for the sake of themselves and their child, a new study has shown.

Although there is the common mindset that pregnant women are 'eating for two', new research has shown that this is not the case, and they could be putting themselves at and their baby at risk by gaining too much weight.

Published in the Cochrane Library, an updated systematic review found that diet and exercise can prevent excessive weight gain in pregnancy. Putting on too much weight puts women at an increased risk of gestational diabetes, high blood pressure, large babies, and delivery by caesarean section. Babies who are a of large birth weights are at risk of childhood obesity.

According to the new analysis, 36 per cent of women who were asked to participate in weight-control courses had excessive weight gain, compared to 45 per cent in the control group. Those who had interventions were also less likely to have high blood pressure.

It looked at 37 new studies overall published between October 2011 and November 2014, including more than 11,400 women.

"The review's findings will be important for informing antenatal care guidelines," said lead author Benja Muktabhant, an associate professor in the Department of Nutrition at Khon Kaen University.